Nonstop flight route between Beaver, Alaska, United States and Benson, Oxfordshire, England, United Kingdom:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from WBQ to BEX:
Share this route:
Jump to:
- About this route
- WBQ Airport Information
- BEX Airport Information
- Facts about WBQ
- Facts about BEX
- Map of Nearest Airports to WBQ
- List of Nearest Airports to WBQ
- Map of Furthest Airports from WBQ
- List of Furthest Airports from WBQ
- Map of Nearest Airports to BEX
- List of Nearest Airports to BEX
- Map of Furthest Airports from BEX
- List of Furthest Airports from BEX
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Beaver Airport (WBQ), Beaver, Alaska, United States and RAF Benson (BEX), Benson, Oxfordshire, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,095 miles (or 6,591 kilometers).
A Great Circle is the shortest distance between 2 points on a sphere. Because most world maps are flat (but the Earth is round), the route of the shortest distance between 2 points on the Earth will often appear curved when viewed on a flat map, especially for long distances. If you were to simply draw a straight line on a flat map and measure a very long distance, it would likely be much further than if you were to lay a string between those two points on a globe. Because of the large distance between Beaver Airport and RAF Benson, the route shown on this map most likely appears curved because of this reason.
Try it at home! Get a globe and tightly lay a string between Beaver Airport and RAF Benson. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | WBQ / PAWB |
| Airport Name: | Beaver Airport |
| Location: | Beaver, Alaska, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 66°21'43"N by 147°24'24"W |
| Area Served: | Beaver, Alaska |
| Operator/Owner: | Alaska DOT&PF - Northern Region |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 359 feet (109 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 1 |
| View all routes: | Routes from WBQ |
| More Information: | WBQ Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | BEX / EGUB |
| Airport Name: | RAF Benson |
| Location: | Benson, Oxfordshire, England, United Kingdom |
| GPS Coordinates: | 51°36'59"N by 1°5'44"W |
| Operator/Owner: | Ministry of Defence |
| View all routes: | Routes from BEX |
| More Information: | BEX Maps & Info |
Facts about Beaver Airport (WBQ):
- Because of Beaver Airport's relatively low elevation of 359 feet, planes can take off or land at Beaver Airport at a lower air speed than at airports located at a higher elevation. This is because the air density is higher closer to sea level than it would otherwise be at higher elevations.
- Beaver Airport (WBQ) currently has only 1 runway.
- The closest airport to Beaver Airport (WBQ) is Birch Creek Airport (KBC), which is located 44 miles (71 kilometers) E of WBQ.
- The furthest airport from Beaver Airport (WBQ) is Port Elizabeth International Airport (PLZ), which is located 10,182 miles (16,386 kilometers) away in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
Facts about RAF Benson (BEX):
- The Battles were replaced in December 1940 with Vickers Wellington medium bombers.
- The closest airport to RAF Benson (BEX) is RAF High Wycombe (HYC), which is located only 13 miles (22 kilometers) ENE of BEX.
- The future of RAF Benson was in doubt for some time, while Project Belvedere was looking into closing at least one of Joint Helicopter Command's airfields.
- The station retained a reconnaissance role for some years after the war, with Avro Lancaster, Spitfire, Mosquito, Gloster Meteor PR.Mk 10 and English Electric Canberra PR.Mk 3 aircraft.
- The furthest airport from RAF Benson (BEX) is Dunedin International Airport (DUD), which is located 11,879 miles (19,118 kilometers) away in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.
- The station is today the home to four squadrons of Support Helicopters, 28 Squadron, 78 Squadron with Merlin helicopters and 33 Squadron and 230 Squadron with Puma helicopters.
- Its Supermarine Spitfire and de Havilland Mosquito aircraft flew missions over occupied Europe, for example bringing back battle damage assessment pictures after Operation Chastise.
